Gasping for Air
by chidichima
Summary: "If I knew I would fall so hard, I wouldn't have allowed myself to stumble." But when you are a goddess of sea wave, the very epitome of instability, and right there in front of you is the most perfect being ever created, you can't really help it, and soon you find yourself falling hard and deep, gasping for air... Femmeslash, don't read if you don't like it.
1. Chapter 1

Warning: the story features femslash, as in romantic relationship between women. If you're not entirely okay with that, just don't read it. Consider yourself warned.

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Prologue

The sea roared and a wave crashed into the shore, water almost reaching the nearest trees of the forest growing just outside the beach. Seconds later two figures appeared. One of them, a muscular, dark-skinned and dark-haired girl sitting on a huge speckled panther, emerged from the shadows of the forest and took off sprinting along the shore. The second one, a blonde girl riding a dolphin, jumped right out the depths of the sea and skipped through the waves in the same direction as the panther.

"Hey, you, Seaweed!" yelled the girl from the beach. "Do you really think you can outrun my Ziba with that little fish of yours? Because I say: no way!"

"Hold on, Wildy!" yelled back the dolphin girl. "Because it's a dolphin and not a fish, and we're going to run circles around you and your tiny kitten as soon as you get your special surprise!"

"What surprise?" the panther girl looked puzzled for a second before a giant wave rose from the sea and crashed over her. The big cat rolled over and quickly stood, spluttering water, but the dolphin was already a good way ahead.

"You cheater!" hollered the girl, resuming her crazy panther-ride, still coughing out salty water, but already laughing. "Next time we race in my forest, we'll see how your fish do then!"

The girls laughter was even lauder than the roar of the sea as they raced away.

The cold eyes of a man standing on the top of a distant cliff turned even colder and his scowl deepened as he watched the girls disappearing in the distance.

"I hate them," he confessed to no one in particular.

A pale man sitting nearby raised his head, only now noticing that something has happened that caught his companion's attention. He looked at the sea and scrunched up his eyes, trying to see what exactly had caused that sudden admission.

"Who, them?" he asked eventually. "Aren't they the goddess of the tropical forest and the goddess of the sea wave? I thought they were rather harmless, if not just unimportant."

"No, not them," snapped the cold-eyed man. "Well, not only them. It's all of them, all the stupid young gods and goddesses guarding the forces of life." He pronounced the last word with something in his voice that could only be called a disdain.

"What's with them? Aren't they all just harmless?" The other man didn't seem particularly interested. His gray eyes were once again trained on a chunks of metal littering the ground in front of him.

"No," answered the Cold-Eyed. "They are stupid and infantile, as we could see just a moment ago, but they're not harmless. Didn't you see this planet lately?"

He flipped a gold coin between his fingers and continued with even more venom in his voice.

"It's literally bustling with life. Billions, myriads of useless creatures and an uncountable amount of green. The whole planet is overflowed and overwhelmed with stupid, little, fragile life, and all that's really worthy remain hidden underground!"

"I don't see why you're complaining. After all, you've got a practically unlimited power over the humans. In fact, they worship you."

"Just another foolish creatures!" he yelled. "I do not care for them in the slightest! It was better in the old days, when there weren't so many of us, when there was no useless life and no irresponsible, incompetent goddesses racing on dolphins and panthers…"

The other man's pale eyes took on a dreamy expression as he said: "I know, I know… These were really good days. We were ones of the few ruling the Earth and our powers were so much greater…" He seemed to be day-dreaming for a few more minutes, but then he regained his composure and laughed humorlessly. "But those days are over now and not going to return. We could just as well wish for the Old Gods to awake, for all it's worth… After all, it's not like you can perish all life from the Earth." He looked back to the pieces of iron moving in front of him on their own accord and observed them lazily, not noticing the strange look on his companion's face.

The Cold-Eyed flipped his coin a few times, watching the sea with a distant expression. When he spoke again, his voice was as sharp as steel.

"Oh really. Can't I?"

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A/N: It's my first story to be published on FanFiction, and English isn't my first language, so I'd really appreciate all comments, reviews and advices I can get from you. I hope you'll enjoy my story!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

The grass on the dunes rustled slightly as a gentle breeze ran over the sand.

A light silhouette shimmered in the air – a shape of a girl. When her toes touched the ground, the shape solidified into a body.

A very beautiful one, for that matter.

She was tall and slim, with skin so pale it was almost translucent. Her waist-long hair were flowing even though there was no wind, and her dress was made of material so thin and light it looked blurred at the hems, creating an impression that it was going to melt into the air very next second. Every now and then she seemed to be shimmering as if one could see right through her.

She took a few steps towards the sea, her eyes glittering warmly. She stopped when her feet met the water, and waited.

Suddenly the sea began moving strongly and strangely, waves growing and doing some kind of crazy dance, crushing together and splashing water around. Finally two particularly large waves crashed and splattered, leaving something behind – that something being yet another girl, with a surfboard under her arm, a damp and tangled hair falling in waves over her shoulders, and an utterly soaked blue shirt and flowery surfer shorts on her body.

The girl standing on the beach smirked slightly, and said: "Impressive entrance."

The girl in the water beamed, not quite catching the sarcasm.

"It is, isn't it? I practiced this trick for ages, it got to be impressive!" She winked and laughed. The waves kept crashing together right where she stood, drenching her again and again in the salty water, but she didn't seem to notice.

The other girl smiled too, her eyes warming at the sight of her cheerful friend.

"Well, you've done a great job here, apparently," she said. "Last time I've seen you doing this it looked more like the waves spat you out instead of bringing you to the shore and leaving gracefully like today…"

"Don't even remind me!" The girl hid her face behind her hands in embarrassment, giggling simultaneously. "It was the worst attempt at my wave-appearing ever! I can't believe I actually thought it was spectacular enough to show it off to you…"

"I thought of it as rather sweet, you know," answered the tall girl. "You looked kind of adorable hurling yourself out of wave and landing face-first in the foam, not to mention those seaweeds in your hair and clothes…"

The surfer girl moaned.

"Can we _please_ not talk about it any longer? I'm going to die out of embarrassment here if you continue on this subject… And I guess you didn't just come here only to see my performance, anyway, did you?"

"No, I didn't." The pale girl's expression turned more serious. "Quari, The Council complains that they haven't seen you for quite some time now. They think you ignore their calls purposefully. I was sent to bring you for The Gathering."

The Surfer's smile faltered for a second as her inner voice scolded: _Of course she was send, what were you thinking? That she came on her own just to see you? Because you know, that's Aera, she's got more interesting things to do than hanging out with some minor goddesses like you, really…_

Out laud she asked with fake innocence:

"Their calls? What calls? They do not think that their coming to the seashore and touching water with their toes would be considered 'a call' by me, right? Because I do not appreciate their stinking feet in my water, much less their belief that I'll come instantly like some kind of a dog that's given a foot to lick. I mean, _a foot_! When I'm busy surfing or riding dolphins! They could at least get into the water and swim for a while or send me letter in a bottle or anything really, but no, _a foot_! That's kind of demeaning, you know." She smirked at the girl on the beach, only then noticing that her cheeks had turned pink and she had averted her eyes. "What is it, Ae? What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"I… I just did the same, didn't I?" Ae looked at her briefly before averting her eyes again. "I'm sorry."

Sudden look of comprehension came over Quari's face and she grinned, waving her hand dismissively.

"You mean the way you summon me by putting your foot in the water? Oh, Ae, but you're a totally different case altogether! I don't mind your feet, you know. They feel nice." She winked and laughed again.

_Now, Quari, isn't it just a perfect line! "Your feet feel nice"?! Great way to come across as cute little fetishist…_

Aera smiled too, a bit uncertainly but still.

"Well, if you say so…" She trailed off, then suddenly remembered the reason of her visit and said, "Anyway, we should probably get going, The Gathering is… well, gathering."

"Oh, right." Now Quari looked a bit anxious. "So… will you take me with you?" she asked, and then hurriedly explained: "I mean, it'd be faster this way, you know."

"Of course I'll take you," answered Aera, "we don't have time to waste. Come here."

She gestured for Quari to come closer. The Surfer eagerly stepped out of the water and onto the beach. Her clothes dried almost immediately and she dropped her surfboard on the ground. She then stood beside the other girl, grinning like crazy in anticipation.

"I can't help thinking, for someone who lives underwater most of time, you're quite fond of air," stated Ae with a smirk, reaching out and pulling Quari closer.

"You mean I'm quite fond of you," answered Quari.

"Same thing." Aera shrugged and Quari giggled.

"It is," she agreed and looked up at the Air Goddess that was embracing her, the touch lighter than a breeze. "And actually I enjoy a good flight just as much as I enjoy a good wave."

_Or maybe just a tad bit more_, she added inwardly as she sneaked her own arms around the other girl's slender waist.

Few seconds later both goddesses shimmered and disappeared.

A gentle breeze ran over the sand and rustled through the grass on the dunes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

The Council Members had their problems and responsibilities, and the biggest of both were the Gatherings.

It's not easy to put all the gods and goddesses of Earth into one place, and even if that difficult goal is finally accomplished, it's even harder to keep the place from being destroyed to ashes by opposite elements squeezed into one location.

And that's essentially what The Council's Palace had been built for.

The Gatherings required space, and the place was huge. The courtyard, where all of them gathered before the actual Gathering began, was gigantic, and also pretty crazy. It was divided into a few sections. There was an enormous campfire in there, always encircled by at least few gods roasting marshmallows, a grand fountain inhabited by all kind of creatures seeking refreshment, a glorious lawn and flowerbeds filled with blossoms that quickly recovered after being stomped on, which happened a lot since the gods seemed to love lying on them while watching the sky above, and a beautiful shelter providing shadow for everyone not very fond of sun, and also being a safe place for appearing and disappearing for all travelling by air. The weathercock on the top of its roof looked rather ancient, yet it still carelessly swung from side to side with every god of wind flying his way by.

The four places were sacred shrines of the Old Gods, the four spirits of elements, yet they weren't restricted in any way from daily use of the Young Gods. The only place that no one dared to step on was a stone-covered circle in the middle of the courtyard, a location clearly intended for something to stand in the centre, yet contemporary empty. No one really knew what the fifth spirit was, but the builders of the palace knew better than to disrespect the Forgotten God by not giving him his own little sacred place among the others.

The courtyard was already pretty crowded when Aera and Quari arrived in the Shrine of Air, causing the weathercock to spin crazily. Quari blinked a few times, fighting off the dizziness that resulted both from flight and being so close to the powerful Air Goddess, but before she could even see clearly, she felt Aera moving out of her grip and heard a voice coming from behind her. She tensed but let go of the other girl and turned around to see Sullatem leaning against one of pillars of the shelter.

"Welcome Aera, it's very nice to see you." He performed a gracious bow and smiled charmingly.

"It's nice to see you too, Sully. It's been some time," replied Aera with a warm smile on her lips.

Quari could feel her fists clenching on their own accord as her eyes bored into the man before her. His eyes flashed to her and he nodded briefly, acknowledging her presence, before looking back to Aera.

"Would you like to take short stroll around the Shrines before the Gathering begin? We have a lot to talk about…" He extended his hand, waiting for her to take it.

Aera looked at the hand for a second and then at Quari.

"You'll be okay now, right? I'll see you later," she said quietly.

_No, I'm not going to be okay as long as you're strolling around hand in hand with that jerk!_

"Ae…" Quari sighed. "Of course, I'm fine. I have something to do anyway. Go and have fun." She smiled a forced smile and shoot another glare at the handsome god of metal. His steel-coloured eyes were trained on Aera's hand as she took his offered arm. She glanced once more at Quari before they walked in the general direction of the campfire.

_Okay, Quari, now breathe. In and out, in and out. There's no reason to be so upset. So she has just chosen his company over yours, what's a big deal? No point in raising tsunami here, it won't help anything. Remember what the dolphins said. Control your temper. Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay damn calm. You are just a silly little friend that likes to spend time with her. He is a quite powerful god that just happened to be courting her. Apparently it doesn't matter that he's also a stupid asshole that should've never seen the surface of the Earth._

_Okay, that's not helping. Don't think. Just breathe…_

As she stood trying to will the darkening feelings away, she heard a cheerful voice calling out for her.

"Q! Hey, Q! You're finally here!"

Before she could react, she found herself being enveloped in a bear- like hug. She didn't really have to look to recognize this sparky energy.

"Hello, Scintilla. What's up?" she grinned at the Spark Goddess.

The girl shook her head and laughed, sending the mass of dark curls dancing around her pretty face and sparks flying into the air.

"Oh, you haven't show up for quite some time, now you have to catch up with everything – but first let's find Crystal, you have to see her dress, it's fabulous! She was somewhere by the fountain the last time I saw her… I mean she's pretty much dressed in frost! Can you imagine that? She's built the dress from ice! Like, nothing else! And what am _I_ supposed to do? I can't just as well make a dress from sparks! I mean, it would last for like, what, half a second, and then disappear? I won't have that. And I can't even ask her to make me an outfit like that, 'cause it would be destroyed as soon as I laughed, and that's assuming it wouldn't just melt the moment I put it on. It's just so unfair!"

Spark Goddess continued rambling as they made their way through the crowd to where the goddess of ice and goddess of volcanoes stood beside the fountain, laughing and bickering as always. The Ice Goddess looked stunning, her frosty dress tightly embracing her perfect shapes, her long white hair flowing down her back. The redhead next to her was considerably taller and more muscular, her whole demeanour speaking of lazy power.

"Hey guys! Just look who decided to join us!" called out Scintilla.

Crystal raised her head and chuckled, the sound resembling of crystal bells.

"Quari, what a surprise! Finally done riding dolphins?" she asked with a wink.

Quari grinned back.

"Oh, I'm so not! The dolphins are far more interesting than anything going on in here, but the old coots sent Ae to bring me, so really what choice did I have?"

Crystal clutched at her chest as if she was stabbed, and exclaimed with fake incredulity, "How can you say that? You really hurt my feelings! You mean the dolphins are more interesting than a bunch of retired gods that keep trying to tell all who actually have some power what to do? That's impossible, there's nothing more interesting than the Gatherings!"

Quari rolled eyes at the Ice Goddess' antics.

"Yeah, it was almost convincing… But hey, is there going to be something actually worth coming here today? Please tell me they're not just going to be gloating over themselves like the last time… And the previous… And the one before it…"

"Oh, Q, always such an optimist!" the Volcano Goddess chuckled - a low, rumbling sound. "But actually Spark said they had some arguments to solve today, like… Spark, what was it?"

"Storm Cloud is furious with Lightning and he refuses to cooperate, Winds blew it up again, Rain is kind of melancholic and Storm just has enough of it," Scintilla was quick to provide the information.

Quari blinked.

"I see… And we have to be here for it, because…?" She looked at the other girls expectantly.

The volcano girl smirked.

"What, you expect us to give you an answer to this? Bad luck, I have no clue what I'm doing here either. I guess oldies just need some audience to perform."

"Oh, great," Quari sighed. "They really don't get it that literary no one pays attention to them, right?"

"Well, look at the bright side of things! The Gathering may be the most boring and pointless thing ever, but you get to see us!" Scintilla giggled, sending a bunch of sparks flying into the air and a bit too close to the Ice Goddess, causing her to yelp.

"Scint, watch it! I spent _ages_ working on that dress, if you ruin it with your little fireworks, I'll be furious!"

Before the Spark Goddess could say anything, they were interrupted by the god of echo inviting everyone to the Hall of Gathering. They looked at each other, resigning themselves to the inevitable boredom of the meeting, and parted ways to take their respective seats in the Hall.


End file.
